Has got permission to bring Rast into this thread

Ocelot had found a poor creature, hurt and unconscious. Her eye was missing, and the other one was completely black. She had several bites on her, tail, left side and even a brushed leg. He didn't know what had happened to her, but she must of got into a fight and obviously she hadn't won. He couldn't just leave her there, he had to do something to help her. So he brought her to the Crystal River. Maybe there, he could wash the blood off her and at least try to help her a little. He had dragged her as much as he could and as close to the river as he could then, he licked up some of the water from the river. After a bit of a drink his mouth was quite wet. With that, Oscelot began to clean as much blood off her as he could off Rast. He really hoped she would wake up, she had to wake up!

@Rast

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Thoughts Here

Despite the new darkness of her word, her dreams remained vivid. Her mind remained nestled in the depths of sleep, unwilling to rise for many hours. Her dreams tortured her further. The creature that attacked her had found its way there and there too attacked her. The creature was bathed in her blood, the walls of the tunnel seemed to scream, and the floor seemed to be made of teeth. In her dream she would run and run but the teeth in the floor would tear up her paws until she could no longer flee her enemy. The nightmare seemed to cycle over and over.

As her mind rested, so did her body. It did not stirred as it was dragged from her encounter with Hell and it did not stir when the air become crisp and free of the stench of blood. Nor did it stir when when the sound of water filled her ears. It wasn't until her mind had rested that it was ready to register her pain once again.

A tongue was rasping over her wounds. The act at any other time would have been soothing, but now the action caused a quiet and tired cry to escape from her. Despite the caretakers good intentions, fear found its way into her heart again. Rast could not see anything, there was no way of knowing what this other creature was going to do. She wanted to flee, but her body was too weak for such a task.

"Please..." She whimpered, "Don't hurt me..." Seeing that she was not thinking clearly, it felt as though this other creature could be an enemy. The snow leopard raised her head weakly, attempting to swing her head the in the direction of the other gembound.

@ocelot

Ocelot stood back as she woke up and begged not to be hurt. He felt so sorry for her. Normally, he would flirt with a girl like her, she was so pretty but now this wasn't the time. He needed to help her anyway he could.

I won't hurt you, I promise. I just want to help you. My name is Ocelot, I......I am a ocelot. Who are you?"

Ocelot's words were kind and gentle, soothing even. He slowly walked over to her and tried againt to clean her wounds as best as she could, hoping that this time she would allow him to.

@Rast

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Her body remained tense as this creature spoke. She could tell from the timber of his voice that he was a male. His name was his species. Some reason this made her feel at ease. That and the sound of his voice. It was not a low rumble like that creature that haunts her. No, Ocelots voice was gentle and low in a way that pleased her. The snow leopard could hear that he was stepping closer. This time, Rast did not avoid the contact, but still jumped as it was unexpected since she couldn't see it happening.

"I'm Rast. A snow leopard." Her voice was shaky with exhaustion, but now above a whisper. The young cat rested her head once again on the soft grass. The action made her wince as the exposed flesh on the right side of her face was poked by the individual blades of grass. Another small cry escaped her.

Instead of the pain she tried to focus on anything else. Getting cleaned felt nice, but it still hurt. Ocelot the ocelot... She realized she did not know what an ocelot looked like. "Ocelot?" She mewed, "What do you look like?"

@ocelot

Ocelot was glad she allowed him to clean her. He listened out for her name, Rast. She was a Snow Leopard? When she asked him what he looked like he stopped and slowly sat himself down.

”What do I look like?”

Slowly he got himself up and walked over to the river. He sat himself down again and stared at his reflection.

”I have blue eyes, and I am covered in spots and stripes. My face has two stripes going down from my forehead to my eyes with a few small spots and stripes in between the two. I have a pure white muzzle, soft smooth fur and round ears. My nose is pink and I have a dark blue gem on my chest.”

Once he was finally done he walked back over to her and sat next to her again. He stayed with her, giving her warmth and comfort.

@Rast

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Rast waited for his reply, not bothering to lift her head to try and follow the sound of his paw steps. It was rather difficult with the sound of the Crystal River anyways. His description reminded her vaguely of herself. Minus the stripes of course. Trying to picture him took her mind off of the pain the most part. It had now decreased to a dull ache. The snow leopard just kept picturing a cat that looked like her but with different colors. It would have to do. Ocelot was kind, it was in his voice and the way he treated her. She was a complete stranger to him, so why would help her? Rast didn't know why but she was glad he did.

"It sounds like you look like me... kind of. A cat of sorts." She murmured.

As he returned, she found herself comforted even further by his warmth. Happiness still seemed like a distant memory. In fact, she was unsure if she would be happy again but for now Ocelot provided a comfort and that was as close as she would get.

"What do I look like?" She was genuinely afraid of the answer, but she just had to know. It couldn't be good... not anymore. Appearance was not at the top of her list, but she was curious. The burning pain on her face made her feel as though it was going to be ugly, especially now.

@Ocelot

Ocelot smiled as she spoke, nodding softly. 'Yeah, like a cat of sorts' They were the same, but different. He listened to her as she asked him what she looked like. He didn't need to be an expert to know that she was afraid of the answer.

"Yeah, I am a cat. We're a lot a like, but different, and you. I think you will have a few scars but honestly, to me you look beautiul."

He smiled and gave her a soft lick on the ear. He looked past the scars, he looked past the damage. He wanted to help her, if he didn't who would?

@Rast

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Anticipation squeezed at the leopards heart as she waited for his reply. When he spoke she managed to raise her head, swinging it in the general direction of his voice.

I think you will have a few scars but honestly...

Scars. She had no doubt about that. The gaping hole in her face would be a scar unable to be hidden. However, something about the way he kept the description vague made her feel relaxed. Surely if it was that bad, he would go into every gory detail.

...to me you look beautiful.

The compliment made her ears hot and the gentle lick delivered to her made warmth run down her spine, temporarily numbing the pain. Ocelot really did seem to be the perfect stranger. In fact, he seemed almost too good to be true. He had pulled her away from the place that will forever haunt her, took the time to clean her wounds, and even put in the effort to make her feel better on an emotional level.

"Tch, you should have seen me before the fight then." Rast joked meekly. Unable to take a proper compliment, she found it easier to just engage in some light banter. But her own joke hurt her feelings instead of making her laugh. I need to change the subject.

"But... why did you bother helping me?" A genuine questions once again. It all truly came down to why.

@ocelot

Ocelot listened to her but he didn't really laugh at her joke, instead pawed awkwardly at the ground unsure what to say. Luckily, she changed the subject to something much easier to talk about.

"Well, I couldn't just leave somebody who needed help, otherwise I'd feel guilty. If I left you and you died because nobody else helped you, then it would partly be my fault. That's why I helped you. Rast, you can't see out of the black eye, can you? What happened to it, if you don't mind me asking?"

He gave another smile to her, even if she couldn't see it didn't matter.

@Rast

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She admired his ability to care for a stranger so deeply. She wondered if she would have done the same thing if their roles had been reversed. She liked to think that she would have. Perhaps now she will never know, she could not save what she could not see. There was something about the thought that made her want to curl up into a ball and let the grasses of Polaris wash over her. I am useless... cant even hunt, cant even navigate my surroundings... cant even see. Rast could have easily spiraled, but Ocelot had asked her a question. She pulled it together and answered.

"Oh... nothing happened." A little smile tugged at the left corner of her mouth. "I was hatched like this. This is my stone." She a raised a paw and gently tapped the side of her face that had the stone. A sudden irony dawned on her. It's terrible truth made her let out a sudden bark of laughter.

"You know how each stone gives us a power over an eleme-" Another stressed laugh, "Well, my element is light. Isn't that funny?" Another bought of semi-deranged laughter escaped her before she realized she probably sounded crazy. Rast cleared her throat and rested her head again. "Sorry... do you know what your stone does?"

With her luck, her current state of emotional instability was going to drive him away. She hoped that he would not go, for without company this dark world she lived in would consume her.

@ocelot